The down-to-earth superstar talks with #legend about his career and passions

The handsome multi-hyphenate is a megastar. His career kicked off with Korean boyband TVXQ, and then he rose to stardom with the group JYJ. Recently, Jaejoong has launched a solo career and has toured all around Asia.

But how much do you really know the talented heartthrob? #legend sat down with him for their November / December cover story, and found out exactly what he’s thinking about.

Read on for a few of our favourite quotes, and check out the full story at www.hashtaglegend.com

It’s been 16 years since your debut. How are you doing these days?

16 years… It’s been a long time, but it doesn’t really make a big difference for me. It’s true that I have been in this industry for a long time and that there have been some challenges. But instead of doing the same things over and over again, I’m focusing on pushing myself to try different things. The number of years has little meaning to me, personally.

What’s your biggest charm?

I guess my charm is that I seem like a celebrity, but at the same time, I’m not like one. I’m very sensitive and cautious of what other people think, and I’m also very self-conscious. So, I get a lot of support from my fans, who say, “Just do whatever you want and be free.” Since I’ve cared so much about my surroundings, from now on I’m planning to be freer and enjoy what I do.

Other than work, what’s your biggest passion at the moment?

I didn’t really care much about sleeping before, but these days I try my best to get quality sleep. Before, it was okay to sleep just a little and go to work. Now, if I go to bed late, it feels like it just ruins the day – like the whole day just disappears. So, I think getting quality sleep is really important. I also had a habit of having a drink before bed, but I’m trying to fix that.

How would you describe yourself in one word?

Dong-ppa – an oppa [older brother] who’s like a dongsaeng [younger brother]. A lot of times people respect me as an artist, but I seriously wish that sometimes my fans and others could treat me a bit more relaxed. Of course, I have years of experience and I may be older than them, but I wish I could just be an older brother or a senior who’s just like their friend, or maybe even a younger brother.

Anything you want to say to your fans?

Take good care of yourselves! When your exhaustion builds up, you’ll age faster and get more stressed out. I think it’s really important to take a vacation at least once a year or just take some time for yourself to rest. I really want to rest. Anyway, I will still work hard and afterwards travel somewhere nice to relax, so that I can come back to show you all a better version of myself. I’m so grateful to have had the chance to shoot these amazing pictures for Hong Kong and I would love to see you all again soon.

This interview has been edited for length. Read the original on www.hashtaglegend.com.

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